Redemption. What a wonderful theme for the holidays.
Because while the Christmas season is a source of great joy, it also can inspire great sadness. If you've experienced a loss, a divorce, a tragic accident or some other misfortune -- if, in other words, your life seems like it can't compare to the Norman Rockwell-like portraits on TV and on Christmas cards -- redemption offers a source of hope.
It's a reminder that not even Norman Rockwell's life was like a Christmas card; Rockwell battled depression, and both of his first two wives struggled mightily against mental illnesses.
Rockwell's wonderful work endures for the ages. Most of us can't touch the world in that way. But we can commit to being a touch more generous and thoughtful, thus helping our families and communities -- and in so doing, relearning the great Christmas lesson of finding satisfaction in doing the right thing.
Matt Frattin has done so in a especially inspiring way. As Herald sportswriter Brad Schlossman describes in his rich Dec. 19 story, "The Road to Redemption," Frattin's drinking habits in August 2009 got him kicked off the UND men's hockey team. But a pro hockey team wasn't so stern about Frattin's indiscretion and offered him a contract.
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What to do? What to do, especially, if you're in your early 20s and choosing between a pro contract or a no-scholarship, clean-up-your-act and pay-your-own-way return to UND?
In an exceptionally mature decision, Frattin came back to UND. Congratulations to him and to hockey coach Dave Hakstol, who also had to make tough calls throughout this episode on very uncertain terrain.
Margery McCanna Jennison wasn't looking for "redemption" in her final act. But she found a form of it anyway: By giving the North Dakota Museum of Art a generous bequest, she has made a lasting difference in the life and culture of North Dakota and reminded many other people of the power of such gifts.
Jennison's gift of her McCanna, N.D., home means the museum can offer "the state's first full-fledged artist-in-residence program," reported Herald staff writer Paulette Tobin. That's no guarantee of the creation of meaningful art. But it greatly boosts the odds, as art patrons and their patronage have shown throughout the centuries.
Legacy bequests such as Jennison's have even more meaning during Christmas, the season of giving. For unlike the many of us who look forward to opening our own presents that'll be under the tree, Jennison gave without thought of a material gift in return. Instead, she gained only the satisfaction that comes from doing a benevolent thing; but the miracle of redemption teaches, that's often the deepest and most rewarding satisfaction of all.
